Drew Smyly to the DL (again)

As quickly as hope was inspired from Drew Smyly returning to the rotation and Alex Cobb getting set to begin his rehab assigning, the baseball gods decided to cruelly rip it away as Alex Cobb will be gone for the season and maybe all of next year, and now Smyly has again been placed on the DL yet again.

Since his return from his original stint on the DL, Smyly has made three starts with each one being better than the last, and although his most recent appearance featured only two hits and one run, his velocity had a noticeable dip. So, last night following the Rays victory over the Rangers, Drew Smyly was placed on the 15-day DL due to left shoulder soreness. In a corresponding move, the Rays promoted both Andrew Bellatti, a reliever new to the Rays, and spot starter Matt Andriese.

This past offseason, Smyly injured a finger on his pitching hand, which delayed his usual workout regime and caused him to get a late start in spring training. When he was finally cleared, he tried to do too much and injured his shoulder, resulting in a long DL stint that ended on April 24th. Smyly came back and did what was expected of him as he threw almost five innings and allowed two runs to score. His follow up start was even better as struck out 10 batters, while only allowing two runs in six innings. It was in his last start, in which Smyly's velocity dipped, and even though the results were good, it would result in him being sent to the disabled list for the second time this year.

The Rays optioned infielder Jake Elmore to Durham last night in order to promote Matt Andriese to fill in as a spot starter for tonight's game, due to Jake Odorizzi dealing with sickness. Tomorrow's starter is unknown at this point but Odorizzi hopefully takes Smyly's slot.